A merchandiser is a special purpose refrigerator that is used to display food and beverage products. The merchandiser has a clear door so that the product kept in the merchandiser is visible to shoppers. Typically, the merchandiser is placed in a highly trafficked location in the store, such as the check-out line or adjacent the end of an aisle.
A conventional merchandiser includes a metal exterior housing and a metal liner with a layer of insulating material in the space between the exterior housing and the liner. The merchandiser is loaded through the front much like a conventional stand-up refrigerator. A door with a clear panel is attached by a hinge to the front of the exterior housing. The product is supported by shelves that are attached to the side walls of the liner. In many merchandisers, the spacing between the shelves is fixed.
One drawback to a conventional merchandiser is that the metal liner is relatively expensive and time consuming to fabricate. Numerous bending, stamping, assembling, fastening, and sealing operations are required to form the liner which must then be assembled into the housing. Once the liner is formed and inserted into the housing, additional labor is involved in attaching shelf supports, such as shelf clips or brackets, to the liner. Also, additional labor is required to assemble mounting brackets for the evaporator coil and fan the evaporator coil and fan. Significant savings in fabrication and assembly costs could be realized by simplifying the construction of the liner, shelf support parts, and mounting brackets.
Another disadvantage of the conventional merchandiser is the lack of flexibility in the positioning of shelves. Since beverages and other products come in many different sizes it is desirable to have the ability to move the shelves easily, without having to also move and locate shelf clips or brackets, to accommodate products of different sizes. It is also desirable to have the ability to tilt the shelf downwardly toward the front of the cabinet to gravity feed product to the front of the shelf. These features would allow the operator to store and/or display different products at different times.
Another problem with a conventional merchandiser is that the liner usually fits only a single model of refrigerator. Thus, it is necessary to fabricate and stock many different parts and liners for the various refrigerators that are sold by the manufacturer. Production costs could be further reduced by designing a liner that can be used interchangeably in multiple refrigerators.
Another problem concerns overstocking. When the merchandiser is completely filled, the product contained in the merchandiser may be pushed against the walls of the merchandiser and interfere with the flow of cooling air inside the merchandiser. Consequently, the product in the merchandiser will not be cooled uniformly.
Another problem with conventional metal liners made of sheet metal is that air circulating within the cabinet does not flow smoothly around the corners, which are typically perpendicular. More efficient and uniform cooling could be achieved by using a liner having radiused corners. In liners made of sheet metal, adding a radius involves additional rolling and forming operations that would significantly increase the cost of the refrigerator.